Free Bets

Champions League clashes among top sporting events of week

By Martin Green09 December 2018

Share with:

Champions League

There are some huge Champions League clashes to look forward to on Tuesday as Liverpool, Napoli, PSG, Tottenham and Inter Milan battle for survival. Either Spurs or Inter will be eliminated, and Spurs have the daunting task of going to the Nou Camp and trying to secure victory. But they could be in with a chance as Barcelona have already qualified and should rest key players. Inter Milan will hope Spurs slip up, and they will try to beat PSV at home in order to be in with a chance of progressing to the knockout stage of the competition. If PSG beat Red Star Belgrade, they will advance, leaving Liverpool and Napoli to battle it out for the remaining place in the last 16. Those two meet at Anfield and Liverpool need to either win 1-0 or by two clear goals in order to progress, so it should be an exciting game. The Reds are 4/6 with Unibet to win and that looks attractive. The following day, Lyon need a draw away at Shakhtar Donetsk to be assured of a place in the last 16, so a double chance bet on them at 8/11 with Bet365 looks tempting.

Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears

The big Sunday night NFL game sees Super Bowl favourites L.A. Rams head to Soldier Field to take on a strong Chicago Bears team. The Rams are 11-1 for the season, the best record in the league, and they have won three in a row to secure their place in the playoffs. They have gone to tough places like Seattle and Denver and won this year, so they should be able to pull off another road win and the 7/10 at Betfair on a straight-up Rams win looks attractive. The Bears suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the New York Giants last time out and that could dent their confidence.

PDC World Championships

The world’s finest darts players will descend upon London on Thursday to battle it out for glory at the PDC World Championships. It will be the first time Phil "The Power" Taylor is absent after he retired last year. Taylor has won this competition in 14 out of the previous 25 years since it began, and his retirement blows the field wide open. World number one Michael van Gerwen is the 13/8 favourite with Betfair to win it for a third time, but he faces stiff competition from Gary Anderson (7/2 with Betfair and Paddy Power), Peter Wright (11/1 with Skt Bet), Michael Smith (14/1 with Bet365) and defending champion Rob Cross (22/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes), who beat Taylor in last year’s final. There will be several matches every day from Thursday all the way through to New Year’s Day, so you will find plenty to wager on.

Rocky Fielding v Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

Britain’s Fielding will put his WBA super middleweight title on the line against the legendary Alvarez at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Alvarez was last seen vanquishing Gennady Golovkin to be hailed as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. The Mexican is the overwhelming to beat Fielding, who is in for the fight of his life after promoter Frank Warren admitted he nearly dropped the phone in astonishment when Alvarez’s team called to set up the bout. Alvarez is 1/16 with Bet365, while fielding is out at 8/1. To get more value, you can find 6/5 on a knockout victory for Alvarez in rounds 1-6, which looks tempting as Fielding seems a bit star-struck by his vaunted opponent.

Al Iaquinta v Kevin Lee

These UFC lightweight contenders will lock horns in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Saturday night in an eagerly anticipated clash. It is a rematch of a bout Iaquinta won by unanimous decision in 2014. However, Lee is now ranked fifth in the division after going 10-2 since that defeat, while Iaquinta is down to ninth and was last seen losing to champion Khabib Nurmagomedov via a decision. Lee is the clear favourite at 1/3 with William Hill and various others, but Iaquinta offers value at 13/5 with Marathon Bet, while some will speculate on the fight going the distance.